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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874390">He love$ me, he love$ me not...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroeko/pseuds/kuroeko'>kuroeko</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inazuma Eleven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, instead of tragedy this is a romcom so enjoy, no one dies except a couple brain cells</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:20:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroeko/pseuds/kuroeko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sure coughing up flowers sucks, loving someone who might not love you back sucks, but what if you could make some quick bucks off of it? Might be a solid business plan right there!<br/>---<br/>CW: mild blood, some coughing up of flowers</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Afuro Terumi | Aphrodi/Fubuki Shirou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. anemone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I said I'd never write a hanahaki but a vision came to me in which suddenly this trope appealed to my sense of humor so here we are. The only tragedy in this fic is a couple brain cells dying from stupidity. Yours? Mine? Aphrodi's? Who knows. Enjoy!<br/>---<br/>Thank you <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enkidudu"> Enkidudu</a> for beta!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Indistinct chatter filled the spacious wooden interiors of the town guild as adventurers and travelers alike rested on benches to the side or gazed at new requests pinned on the large notice boards. Once chosen, these various requests were brought over to the only open counter at the moment, manned by a very harried looking man with long blue hair that was swept back into a high ponytail. The unusual part of this clerk was that he only had one visible brown eye, but still did things twice as fast as any other clerk that worked here. Reaching up to pull back a stray bang that had slipped in front of his good eye, the guild clerk was leafing through the heavy ledger to his side when he caught sight of a flash of gold strands wafting by.</p><p>“Aphrodi!” His shout cut straight through all the murmured conversations nearby and forced the recipient to awkwardly stop in place. White wings were pressed flat against his back, and the long golden hair that had given him away was mostly tied under a flat cotton bandana. His normal maroon and gold messenger cloak had been changed out for a drab brown one that wrapped over nearly his entire figure, and had a flap that covered most of his wings as well. </p><p>“Um...yes, Kazemaru?” Aphrodi tried to respond with a hopefully winning smile, but didn’t try to push his luck with a wink of his red eyes. That might just drag him down further into this mess.</p><p>“Where are you going? There’s still messages to deliver!” Kazemaru pointed at a stuffed mail bin that was labeled [OUT]. Aphrodi forced himself to not look at it, and only blindly nodded instead. </p><p>“Just a quick trip, sorry Kaze, I have an appointment. I’ll work overtime later today to deliver those.” He noticed that the adventurer waiting at the counter seemed to be in a hurry, fidgeting slightly and glancing at the clock. Taking advantage of this, he gave a quick wave over to where the angry one-eyed guild clerk was starting to speak again.</p><p>“I won’t take up any more of your time dear customer! I promise I’ll be right back, it’s-” Aphrodi suddenly suppressed a cough, drawing up a hand to cover his mouth, then winced a bit and swallowed. </p><p>“-very urgent, sorry.” With that, he left out the nearest window, awkwardly flapping his wings to avoid the steep drop below. The town was located alongside a mountain, and the air was always thin up here. A variety of folk inhabited this place, as it was a midway point between larger cities on either side of the mountain. Aphrodi himself was wingfolk and made his living delivering guild messages up and down the steep mountain, where houses had burrowed directly into the sides to provide some foundation to the parts that cantilevered out into open air. </p><p>Arcing through the crisp air, he glanced up at the overcast sky above and figured it mirrored his mood quite well. He avoided getting too close to all the open-air passageways that also hung out in the open sky, and dodged a couple flying weredragons and other wingfolk as well. Strings of rope ladders and different-colored flag garlands criss-crossed the mountain face, coupled with sturdier wooden stairways for the less fleet-footed denizens. There were plenty of ways to get around in their mountainside town, but Aphrodi was in a hurry today. He flew straight for an open patio that had a red and white tattered flag flying from it. Clumsily landing on the wooden deck, he quickly folded his wings, then patted himself down and walked in through the open backdoor. </p><p>“Hello!” A bright voice rang out towards him, and Aphrodi lifted up a hand in greeting to the young receptionist behind the counter. He’d come here a couple of times before for past injuries, but this time the injury was harder to describe. </p><p>“Haruna, hello, I believe I had an appointment right around now.” He glanced over at the clock, and felt relief that he was right on the dot. “Guild matters took longer than I thought, with Kazemaru harping on some extra deliveries.”</p><p>“Haha, that man always overworks himself, that’s not good for your health so I’m glad you’re not listening to him!” She reached up and pulled down some red-rimmed glasses, her loppy rabbit ears nearly seamlessly blending into fluffy navy hair. Searching through the appointment book in front of her, she found Aphrodi’s name that had been hastily penned in a few days ago and smiled up at him. </p><p>“Right you are! I’ll take your payment now. After that I’ll do a quick checkup and Kidou will be with you shortly!” Some coins were exchanged, Aphrodi wincing slightly as his wallet lightened. Then his typical measurements were taken and he was left alone in the smaller patient room down the hall. It was whitewashed and cheery, but the myriad of anatomical diagrams pasted on every wall never had him feeling too comfortable in here. He instead decided to preen slightly, wondering if he should’ve done this before getting his wingspan measured as some pinions were accidentally crooked from flight. </p><p>A cough built up suddenly, tickling at his throat and making it hard to breath evenly. He tried to hide it, to force it back down, but this time it was too much and he was forced to bring up his hands to hack out whatever it was that was lodged into his throat. Just as he managed to spit the remaining petals out of his mouth, the door clicked open and a pair of spectacles peered over at him from the open doorway.</p><p>“I thought you were coming here for a mild, irritating cough.” Kidou sidled into the room, shutting the door behind him with a kick of his foot as he leafed through the small paper folder that contained Aphrodi’s past medical records. Two long rabbit ears flopped alongside his face, but his hair was brown and curly, the latter being rare for a rabbit folk. The rowdy hair had been gathered up into a low ponytail that rested over the large white coat he wore, buttoned up in the front to keep in some warmth. </p><p>“Uh yeah, the flowers are sort of mildly irritating. And I’m coughing them up.” Aphrodi replied, unsure if he should toss out the flowers or show them as part of his medical symptoms. He glanced at them, seeing the now familiar purple streaked petals that darkened in the middle. The flower came with some yellow clumpy pollen bits and what looked like longer red strings all sticking out of the center. </p><p>“Do you...at least know what these flowers are?” He held them up and waited as Kidou came over and looked at them for a little bit.</p><p>“I’ll have to check later, I’m not a florist.” the doctor replied, pulling a pencil out from his lapel pocket and writing down some observations. “First tell me, when did this start? Did you deliver a cursed object?”</p><p>“I wear gloves while delivering now, ever since that last incident that gave me scales for a week.” The preening messenger replied while snapping his wings open and shut a couple times. “Well I don’t know, it was just a tickle in my throat for a while, and then I started randomly coughing up flower buds. I thought I just ate something funny, y’know those old wives tales that you shouldn’t swallow seeds?” He looked up at the partially rhetorical question, then continued when Kidou didn’t reply and only kept taking notes.</p><p>“OK, well I don’t know if they’re true or not. But I did eat poppyseed cake a few days ago. But these aren’t poppies, right?” No answer again, and Aphrodi sighed a bit. He’d never really held onto the flowers long enough to figure this stuff out. They normally got tossed to the side, or hacked out in midair onto some unsuspecting stranger. </p><p>“But the flowers are getting larger and I’m starting to cough more and more frequently. So I thought I’d stop by because evidently the curse wasn’t going away after a month or so.” Finishing up his report, he halfheartedly offered up the crushed handful of flowers to the contemplating doctor. </p><p>“Didn’t touch a cursed object, started out about a month ago?” Kidou looked up from his notes and saw Aphrodi nod in reply. “What are the signs before you start hacking up flowers?” </p><p>“Well, my chest sorta tightens and it hurts and gets hard to breathe.” Aphrodi explained, sitting up straighter and rubbing his chest with a hand to indicate the spot. “Otherwise it’s sort of random. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night coughing, or in the middle of flying a delivery.” </p><p>“Do you ever...think of someone before that happens?” Kidou was beginning to remember a rare illness, or curse, he couldn’t remember. His studies were years ago now, but this was starting to have all the classic symptom patterns. </p><p>“W-what?!” The stammered reply and subsequent shifted eye contact keyed him into the exact diagnosis. </p><p>“Aphrodi, you’re <em> lovesick </em>. It’s a rare type of curse, but if you’re deeply in love with someone who doesn’t love you back yet, the whole coughing up flowers thing happens.” Kidou sat down, nudging up his spectacles as they’d slipped a bit when he had moved. He waved a hand in front of the frozen wingfolk, then snapped his fingers to try and get a reaction. Aphrodi didn’t move an inch, staring at him with wide-open eyes.</p><p>“You’ve played around a bit, but you’ve suddenly fallen deeply for someone?” The knowledgeable doctor tried to keep the conversation going, but it had absolutely frozen to a halt. “Wait here, let me go get some reference books while you figure yourself out.” Kidou got up and left the room, walking down the hall towards his office that doubled as a study. Books were crammed into every nook and cranny here, but in a tidy manner that made the room look larger than it actually was. He walked along the floor-to-ceiling shelves, then found a set of thick tomes that he was looking for. The spines still looked new, as he didn’t often reference these particular books. They were placed onto the nearby wooden tray on his desk, and then a couple more books from here and there were added onto the pile. Satisfied with the references he’d procured, Kidou picked up the handles of the tray and brought them all back to his uncharacteristically silent patient. </p><p>Aphrodi was sitting with his head in his hands facing the examination table. For once, the man seemed to be doing some intense self-reflection, and Kidou let him be while placing the tray of books down. The retched-up flowers were still on the side, and he picked up a nearby pair of metal tweezers and picked one up. They were surprisingly dry already, and he opened up the thick tomes and began to page through the detailed pages of botanical illustrations. Too bad he couldn’t just look up “purple flower”, but he luckily found the exact specimen by the second tome. </p><p>“I’ve found your flower, it’s saffron.” Kidou announced, turning the tome around so the open pages were facing the still silent man. Aphrodi sullenly looked up, then focused on the information crammed along the open pages. Full scale diagrams were present, lovingly illustrated by an artist’s ink and paints. There were diagrams of the petals, leaves, and extra little parts inside the flower he wasn’t too clear about. </p><p>The paragraphs on the side also detailed various information about the flower’s symbolism, evidently meaning things ranging from glee to gladness to cheerfulness. None of which Aphrodi felt at the moment. His eyes skipped over the cramped text in the middle, then fixated on the extra information at the very end. </p><p>“Saffron...a spice?” He peered at the blotchy print, trying to make out what it said. “Expensive spice?”</p><p>Kidou pulled the book back around, then pushed his spectacles up further along the bridge of his nose and carefully read the last paragraph. </p><p>“It says the stigma, the red stringy parts of these flowers, are a valuable and rare spice that is used in many places.” He held up the purple flower with his tweezers and pointed at the three long red strands that stuck up from the middle of the flower. “They’re dried and then used to cook with rice and meats. It’s apparently got good flavor.”</p><p>“I wonder if I can sell these,” Aphrodi mused, rubbing his chin slightly as he took in all this new information. </p><p>“Aphrodi, please don’t tell me you’re just going to plan on living life coughing up flowers any time you think of the potential partner you fancy and then <em> selling </em> the flowers.” Kidou sternly reprimanded his patient, who unfortunately was also his friend.</p><p>“Why can’t I?” The uncooperative patient mulishly replied.</p><p>“Because the curse will get stronger if you don’t get an answer to your currently one-sided pining, and you’ll eventually suffocate to death from flowers coming up your windpipe.” The sagely doctor answered, finally finding the information on this particular curse in a different book. He looked up to see a now-familiar shocked face staring up at him.</p><p>“I have to CONFESS?” Aphrodi wanted to scream or cry upon hearing this information. Or he might just do both at once right here and now.</p><p>“Yeah, or get them to like you back, unless you want to die choking to death on flower petals.” Kidou pointed out the obvious as he skimmed the curse information on the yellowed pages in his hand.</p><p>“Confessing is the SAME as dying, Kidou. Have you <em> ever </em> been in an one-sided situation like this?! You don’t understand. You’ve been single your whole life so far.” The already heartbroken wingfolk sprawled on the table, unable to even compose himself by now.</p><p>“Alright, well I’ve given you all the advice I can give. Your physicals are fine. If you’re still alive your next checkup is in 6 months.” Kidou wrote down his final diagnoses, then handed Aphrodi the finished papers. The mass of feathers didn’t move, and he opted to stuff it under the sleeves of the crying man’s coat. </p><p>“My next patient is coming soon, Aphrodi.” He sighed and sat down next to his friend, then patted the quivering back. “It’ll be alright, and in the end I’d rather you be alive. Patients are more useful alive than dead, same with friends.” </p><p>“I want to die.” Aphrodi cried, only peeling himself off of the table when he hiccuped up a flower bud. “Thanks, Kidou.”</p><p>“No problem,” the weary doctor replied, mentally making a note to check in on Aphrodi as a friend more often after this incident, lest he end up visiting a grave instead one day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>I spent some time working on capelet mechanics.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. red carnation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The market alleys were bustling with all sorts of folk as usual, and Aphrodi took his time picking somewhere to alight on one of the teeming wooden platforms. Once on solid ground again, he quickly cleared out of his chosen landing spot and was immediately jostled towards the eager sellers that lined the platform edges. </p><p>“Hey there pretty lady! Want a nice bauble?” Hands and horns laced with gold bands and jewels dangling on delicate chains shoved into his vision, and Aphrodi had to step back to not get forced into a purchase.</p><p>“I’m not a lady, and I’m not looking for jewelry right now,” he wryly replied, ducking around the disappointed weredragon and flitting down stairs. Handcarts and more permanent stalls took up most of the room on this staircase, and he had to keep a tight grip on his belongings to not have them magically disappear to some deft hands. There was one particular shop he wanted to go to, and it was in the more established market center. Flying into there was a bit of a pain to navigate around all the garlands and laundry lines, so he’d opted to walk there instead. After getting elbowed for the fourth time within ten steps, Aphrodi was starting to think maybe he should’ve just gotten tangled in a laundry line instead.</p><p>A sideways surge of the crowd had him accidentally stumbling around a building corner, savory smells coming from the alleyway letting him know that this was a snack street. He turned back towards the main street and squinted up at the sky, wondering if he’d be able to take off in such a small spot when a soft voice spoke up.</p><p>“Oh hello, I didn’t think I’d meet you here. Is there a delivery nearby?” Aphrodi could recognize that voice from anywhere, even in his dreams which he’d heard more than once speak his name, and he whirled around to see a silver-haired beastman smiling up at him from a stout table. Teal eyes blinked and took him in, drooping slightly at the edges, and a half-eaten meal sat on a plate in front of the speaker. </p><p>“H-hi Fubuki!” Aphrodi’s voice nearly cracked and he felt a familiar itch begin to build up in his chest. “No um, I’m just going through the market for myself.” Everything he said sounded so cheesy, but he couldn’t come up with anything better at the moment. He braced himself slightly against the wooden table that Fubuki was sitting at, and noticed the torn cape that wrapped around well-set shoulders.</p><p>“Did you just get back from a quest?” </p><p>“Yeah,” silver tufted ears flicked as Fubuki turned slightly and eyed the rip in his cape. “I’ll be going over to the guild right after this, I just wanted to get a bite to eat beforehand.”</p><p>“Oh, no rush!” Aphrodi realized he sounded like a certain annoying guild clerk and waved his hands to clear himself of that image. “I was just curious because of the tear on your cape, you’re not hurt, are you?” Wings flicking slightly, he leaned forward to take a look at the torn grey fabric. </p><p>“I’m fine, this was just from getting caught in a tree branch. The cape’s old and tore easily.” Fubuki smiled over at him and patted his shoulder, dusting it off slightly. “I still have a little while for my meal, if you’re heading back to the guild afterwards we can go together?” He tilted his head slightly, watching the white wings hidden under the cape flick back and forth. </p><p>The first time he’d seen Aphrodi had been upon arriving at the guild after coming from the north. It had been a hot day despite the high altitude, and he’d been sweating by the time he made it to the guild street. Trudging along while wiping away sweat from his brows, he was startled out of the heat haze by a bang coming from above. By the time he’d looked up, a window shutter was swinging wildly in the wind and a pair of the purest white wings he'd ever seen were arcing through the air. Long golden hair framed against the sky had streamed behind a laughing angel with papers in hand. Their paths had crossed here and there after that, but never enough to chat for long. The guild was busy, after all, and even getting this messenger's name had taken some wrangling from the fussy guild clerk. </p><p>“O-oh.” The itch in Aphrodi’s throat was growing stronger, and it was suddenly harder to breathe. But a rare chance to spend time with the quiet adventurer, to learn more about him-! </p><p>“I-!” A cough suddenly built up, and he had to hurriedly cover his mouth to try and catch whatever seemed to be trying to come out. In front of the exact object of affection currently causing his slow death, his rare curse had decided to act up twice as much as normal. </p><p>“Aphrodi?” Fubuki began to get up, concerned at this sudden change of mood, when the messenger hurriedly waved a hand at him to sit back down.</p><p>“I’m OK.” Scrunching up his fist around the stupid flowers that had nearly choked him to death earlier, Aphrodi forced a smile onto his face and thrust the fist into his cape. Ignoring his brief brush with the afterlife, he relished in how Fubuki had spoken his name earlier. </p><p>“But I’ll be spending some time in the market, so you should go ahead without me.” The words tasted sour in his mouth, but maybe that was partially the leftover blood from the coughing fit to blame. He desperately wanted to spend time with Fubuki, but if it meant him hacking up bloodied flowers and having to confess, he’d rather die in a ditch alone. </p><p>“That’s too bad,” the beastman softly replied, then furrowed his brows as he gazed up at Aphrodi. “That cough earlier sounded sort of bad, are you going to the doctor?”</p><p>“Don’t worry at all, I just got back from the doctor.” Aphrodi smoothly replied, feeling the itch build in his throat again. “I’m just going to market after that.”</p><p>“Oh for medicine? I hope it gets better soon.” The exact cause of Aphrodi’s problem gave him a worried smile, and Aphrodi beamed right back. </p><p>“Thanks for your well wishes, and I’ll see you around the guild I hope?” His fingers tightened around the flowers within his cape, then he remembered their worth and loosened his grip. </p><p>“Yes, I’ll be around, I wanted to take a break after this last series of quests,” Fubuki reached up and ruffled his bangs slightly, already wishing he was at the bathhouse. “This time of the year the number of quests dies down anyways, so it’s not a bad time to take a break.”</p><p>“Well you’re a high ranking adventurer, so your services are always in demand.” Aphrodi felt the cough building up again and decided to excuse himself before things got really bad. “Enjoy your meal and see you at the guild! I better go before Kazemaru makes me work overtime when I get back.” </p><p>Fubuki got the hint and inclined his head with a smile, waving his hand slightly as he watched the head of long golden hair flit back into the busy crowd beyond the alleyway. Looking back down at his half-finished meal, he noticed a crumpled petal lying on the other side of the table. </p><p>“That wasn’t there before,” he muttered while getting out of his seat to go look at it. A light purple base with darker purple streaks throughout the petal, he realized that there were some small blotches of reddish brown on it, and upon closer inspection were easily wiped off. </p><p>“This….” Sticky and red, Fubuki had seen this color and texture before, and realized that it was blood. The petal hadn’t been around before Aphrodi had came, but he hadn’t smelled or sensed anything off while they spoke. The wind was blowing out of the alley, however, and the scents of cooking food here were so strong it overpowered everything else. </p><p>“I hope this isn’t anything serious.” The worried beastman went back to his meal, trying to think of situations where blood and flowers would mix. Settling on the equivalent of a papercut situation but from a flower petal, he attempted to reassure himself that it was a minor problem while finishing the rest of his meal alone. </p><p>---</p><p>The sun was high in the air as Aphrodi finally made his way to the inner market streets. This was where the older established stores were located, boasting actual storefronts and wonderfully paved streets. Colorful flags and banners waved from door frames and higher window sills, with some specialized stores even having their own landing platforms for easy entry from the air. The one Aphrodi was looking for was situated on the lower floor of one of these stacked buildings, as each store was squished up against another in a bid for precious retail space. The sacks of different colored grains and powders were easy enough to spot, but he first had to make a pit stop at the fountain that decorated the middle of the inner market. </p><p>A marvel of the mountain environment, a natural geyser had been found in this area and part of it powered the fountain here without any magical intervention. A raised brick circle surrounded the pool that water splashed down into, and a statue of several famous adventurers stood in the middle of it. Water splayed out from each of the adventurer’s drawn weapons, but Aphrodi ignored marvel of artistry and instead stuck his fist into the fountain water. A couple quick rinses and the crushed flowers in his hand were bloodless and good as new. </p><p>“Hope there’s no blood on me.” He leaned over and took a good look at his reflection, then smiled as he adjusted his bangs slightly. At least he’d looked good when Fubuki had seen him right after getting milled around by the crowd. </p><p>Preparations done, he walked towards the store cast in shade to go greet an old acquaintance. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. hollyhock</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Welcome!”</p><p>Aphrodi immediately stopped and glanced around to check that he was in the right store. He’d come several times before, but this was the first time he’d seen a cute weredragon girl manning the counter. The store was crowded with barrels and bags of spices everywhere. Even the walls were lined with evenly spaced cabinets that housed the more precious spices. There wasn’t a spice you couldn’t get in this store, as price was the only limiting factor.</p><p>“Um. Hi. Is Gouenji here?” He didn’t feel like turning up the charm anymore today, but the girl seemed absolutely undeterred.</p><p>“Not at the moment, but I can help! Are you looking for a particular spice?” She glanced around the store, running a hand along one of her pink braids. They sat on either side of her head, framing her two brown curved horns nicely. A pink scaled tail flicked back and forth, stirring up a little cloud of spice powder behind the counter.</p><p>“No, I’m looking to sell a spice.” Aphrodi sighed, figuring he’d come back another day if the main dealer wasn’t there. </p><p>“Ohhh which one? We have our suppliers, but new ones are always welcome.” She leaned on the wide wooden counter, giving him a once-over that left him feeling particularly seen. </p><p>“No worries at the moment, I’ll come back another-”</p><p>“YUUKA!” A more familiar voice called out just as the door swung open, where a tanned weredragon in an obnoxiously red long coat stepped in. Two earrings glinted on one long fuzzy ear, and a jeweled hand swept aside some stray blonde bangs. Aphrodi briefly wondered if Gouenji had a run in with the same pushy jewelry seller as the man stepped into his own store. </p><p>“I thought I told you to just keep watch over the store, not OPEN it.” </p><p>“But we have customers! Or suppliers,” Yuuka protested with a quick glance towards Aphrodi. “You never let me run the store when you’re gone and then we miss out on sales.”</p><p>“That’s because I don’t like it when it’s just you in here, Toramaru isn’t even around right now. Remember the rule? Two workers in the store at all times, you can’t even lift up a spice sack! What if you got hurt?” Gouenji fully ignored Aphrodi as he walked through the bags of spices and wound around to the back of the counter. He pulled off his coat and hung it on a well-used coat rack on the wall, then pulled up his cotton sleeves to reveal a light patterning of black scales on his forearms. Scales that were rubbed over one another as he crossed his arms and faced his feisty little sister. She’d been so cute and sweet when she was young, but now….</p><p>“I’ll be <em> fine </em>, big bro!”</p><p><em> Ohhhh that’s Gouenji’s sister, </em> Aphrodi thought with interest as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. The spice seller looked positively harassed and on the verge of imploding when his sweet little sister hauled up a full sack of pepper with just one hand to prove him wrong. The bickering looked like it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, but unfortunately the shadows in the store were beginning to lengthen and Aphrodi still had work to do.</p><p>“Excuse me-” </p><p>Gouenji glared at him the moment he spoke up and then promptly ignored him again. </p><p>“Yuuka, I’m glad you can lift so many spice bags now and that you know your way around the store, but you’re still not old enough-”</p><p>“I’m old enough to get registered at the guild, big bro!” She stamped her foot, tail lashing in the air while facing off against her overly protective worrywart of an older brother.</p><p>“EXCUSE ME.” Aphrodi leaned across the counter, waving an open hand. “YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER HERE.”</p><p>“Yuuka said you’re not a customer.” Gouenji turned to face Aphrodi, whom he knew from having to rely on this flitty wingfolk for guild messages. “I’m in the middle of something important right now.”</p><p>“Well I’m a <em> supplier </em>, so maybe you should actually focus on your work business instead of your personal business at the moment.” Not wanting to wait any longer, Aphrodi lifted his other hand and dropped the fistful of flowers onto the counter. </p><p>“I’m not a florist,” came Gouenji’s clipped reply, until the impromptu flower dealer picked one up and shoved it into his face. </p><p>“But you’re a spice dealer, and you should know what spices these flowers hold.”</p><p>Yuuka came closer, eyes wide with curiosity as she cautiously sniffed at the mass of purple petals. Gouenji slowly reached up a hand, then pulled the slightly wet flower out of Aphrodi’s fingers and took a long look at the inside stigma. </p><p>“Where’d you get this from?” He wondered why the flowers were slightly wet and looked back up at the nonchalant messenger across the counter.</p><p>“A supplier doesn’t give away his secrets.” Aphrodi covered the rest of the flowers with a hand, then gestured at the one in Gouenji’s hand. “How much would you pay for these?”</p><p>“...let me run some tests, and give me the rest of them so I can give you a proper count if they’re real.” After some slight fussing, the flowers were relinquished over to him and he took them to the side of the counter to begin disassembling them. Both Aphrodi and Yuuka watched with open curiosity, as it wasn’t everyday that fresh saffron appeared at his doorstep.</p><p>“Is that really saffron?” Yuuka whispered as she came up to Gouenji's workstation, where he was carefully using a sunstone to dry the small pile of wet stigma he’d removed from the open flowers.</p><p>“I think so, and Aphrodi’s not one to lie. Although where he got such fresh and high quality saffron I have no idea. It doesn’t grow anywhere near this mountain.” He pulled out some sheets of paper and began marking some information down. “Once it passes the dye checks I can give him a proper price.” He ran a hand through his hair, rubbing at the base of one of his white horns as he thought over how this might have happened. Maybe the guild had started growing saffron, but why was it wet? Saffron didn’t grow in wet environments….</p><p>“Is this going to take a while?” Aphrodi tapped his fingers on the wooden counter, unable to hear whatever was going on between the two siblings. His earlier callous attitude to skipping work was starting to creep away, and he was now worried about his job security if he got back after sunset. </p><p>“No. Now be quiet.” Gouenji replied without even looking up at him, but the slight lash of the black scaled tail had Aphrodi shutting right up. The waiting messenger looked around mahogany walls, admiring how polished and shiny they were. Dealing in rare spices came with lots of gold, and it showed in the inlays of the store. Just as he was beginning to amuse himself by sniffing at each spice sack, Yuuka came back to the counter and waved at him. </p><p>“Dear supplier, your order’s ready!” </p><p>“Is it an order if I’m a supplier?” Aphrodi asked, then shut up again when he caught an angry glare from the weredragon behind her. <em> Whatever, she’s trying her best with this overbearing brother.  </em></p><p>“Well, I won’t ask questions on where you got that saffron from, but I hope you didn’t kill anyone for it.” A slip of paper was pushed across the counter, and Aphrodi began to lean in to better read the numbers when a solid gold coin was suddenly placed onto it. </p><p>“There you go.” Gouenji remarked, pressing into the coin with one of his clawed nails and then dragging it across the coin face. It cleaved open easily, showing that the coin was gold through and through. </p><p>“The <em> whole </em> gold coin?!” Aphrodi yelped, hurriedly reaching up and pulling out the paper from underneath it. Neat black ink spelled out the entire transaction, and for just a little bit of saffron, he’d earned himself one whole gold coin. Two month’s salary, just like that. </p><p>“Yes…? You’re lucky I’m a fair buyer, if you didn’t know it’s worth that much.” </p><p>Aphrodi glared at the speaker, then gave off a happy sigh and reached over to pocket the gold coin. </p><p>“Well, thanks to both of you, and I’ll see you around again soon if that’s the case, Mr. Fair Buyer.” He gave Yuuka a wink as well, then hurriedly exited as he saw the stormy expression mounting on Gouenji’s face. The paper was still in his hand, and he carefully folded it after taking stock of the exchange amount. Wouldn’t do to have it change too much the next time solely because he gave a little flirtation to someone he wasn’t even interested in. </p><p>The gold in his pocket weighed him down slightly, and he thought over what to do with the money. There were plenty of things he wanted to buy: new blankets, nice food, maybe some pretty jewelry… but someone else he knew needed something nice more than himself, and with this extra sparkle in his pocket he was better able to make that happen. </p><p>---</p><p>Fubuki stood in front of the guild notice board, trying to see what quests were available today. He’d rested for a couple days, but if he didn’t work, he didn’t make money, and his savings were nothing to brag about. The tear was still present on his cape, but he’d half mended it with some loose thread and a needle. It would hold until the next tree branch caught it, but there was a slight worry that he’d snag it badly on something and end up in a bad situation. </p><p>A new quest had been posted up and after some contemplation, he picked it off of the board and took it up to the front counter to claim it. Unexpectedly, there was no line and he simply walked up to find an empty desk. </p><p>“Hello?” He leaned over, wondering where the clerk was as this was the first time he’d ever seen the counter empty.</p><p>“Hey!” A head of blue hair shot up from below, kicking up some dust while Kazemaru emerged from where he’d been crouched. Some yellowed papers were clutched in his arms, and by the layer of dust on them looked fairly old and abandoned. </p><p>“Sorry about that.” The diligent clerk suppressed a sneeze, then registered who was in front of him. “Oh, Fubuki! Stay right here, I have something for you.”</p><p>“Huh?” Fubuki’s tail swished back and forth as he watched Kazemaru disappear into the back with papers and then emerge with a parcel in hand. </p><p>“This is for you.” The guild clerk passed it over without explaining much further, then made to duck under the desk for some further cleaning.</p><p>“Wha-wait! From who-?” His question was cut off by a card that fell to the ground as he spoke. It had been jostled loose from the package folds and he knelt down to pick it up. Written on thick paper, it took him a little while to piece out the sender as it wasn’t someone he ever expected to send him a parcel. </p><p>“Aphrodi?” He whispered the name out loud then glanced around, wondering if just uttering this name could summon the messenger. Nothing changed around him though, and Fubuki flipped the card over to see what the contents were.</p>
<hr/><p>I hope you enjoy the new cloak, I got one for you that should hold up well to adventuring. It’ll keep you warm and safe. </p>
<hr/><p>A simple message that spurred Fubuki into opening the package right at the counter. The rough paper wrapping easily opened up to reveal a gorgeous dark navy cloak. The weave was tight and thick, with a slight mottling effect that was perfect for blending into outdoor environments. As he lifted it off of the counter, the fabric seemed to flow right over his arms, softly caressing his calloused fingers. The cloak was high quality, and he could tell that without even glancing at the ornate silver clasps that linked the top together. Far better than the torn and patched one he wore at the moment, but he couldn’t think of a reason why he’d been gifted it. </p><p>“Kazemaru?” He leaned over the counter, only to hear a slight thump come from underneath. An irritated guild clerk emerged again from below while rubbing the top of his head. </p><p>“What? Oh, a quest?” Kazemaru switched to business mode upon seeing the sheet stuck under Fubuki’s elbow.</p><p>“No um, do you know why Aphrodi gave me this?” He lifted up the cape, trying to better show Kazemaru the surprise gift. </p><p>“Oh it was a cape? That’s nice, yours <em> does </em> need some replacement.” The judging guild clerk nodded as he looked it over. “And no, I don’t know why. He just said it was for you, looks expensive though.”</p><p>“That’s right, I just—why would he give me something this expensive?” Fubuki fretted over the fabric in his hands, marveling at how thick but light it was. Perfect for an adventurer, but something this nice didn’t come cheap.</p><p>“Who knows, you can ask him next time, or leave a message.” Kazemaru tapped at the thick ledger book next to him, then gestured at the quest paper at Fubuki’s side. “Are you taking that quest?”</p><p>“Ah yes, um, I think I’ll see him around, but could you let him know that I want to say ‘Thank you’?” Fubuki passed over the paper and watched as the diligent clerk began transferring all the necessary information for the quest. </p><p>“Sure, sure.” Kazemaru replied with a slight wave of his free hand. “I’ll let him know once he finishes his rounds.” Fubuki furrowed his brows at the nonchalant dismissal, but glanced back down at the cloak in his hands. Maybe he’d see the guild messenger somewhere around, but something this nice deserved a thanks in person. </p><p>“You’re all set.” </p><p>The proper papers were passed over to him, and Fubuki found himself shooed away from the counter, leftover package paper and all. After a quick sweep around the guild, he finally left to get ready for this next quest. The cloak draped over his arm, warming it already from the slightly chilly mountain air. Even though he tried not to think too much on it, every flash of gold and white had him thinking about Aphrodi, and he spent the rest of his walk home wondering what had brought about the gift in his hands. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>The perfect length.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. angelica</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kazemaru stood at the counter, bored, but not bored enough to ask Fubuki why he hadn’t left to open the package in his hands yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um...is Aphrodi around?” Fubuki glanced up at the guild clerk, normally perky wolf ears flattened against the side of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s out today.” Kazemaru rolled his eye, then gestured at a pile of mail next to him. “He’s been out more often recently, dunno why. Works piling up as our other guild messengers can’t handle this much excess volume.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, agh, did he say anything from my message last time? About asking to meet?” He turned the package over in his hands, wondering what it was this time. Over the past month he’d received intermittent packages all from Aphrodi, but the giftee was never around to give it and instead left it for the guild to pass on. Frustrated with being unable to give his thanks in person, Fubuki had to instead rely on Kazemaru to pass his messages along in turn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he just gave me the package. He hasn’t been very talkative lately.” The bored guild clerk leaned forward to take a better look at the wrapping. “What is it this time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know...I don’t even know why he keeps giving me these gifts.” Fubuki reluctantly worked open the twine that held it closed, then set the package on the guild counter to better open it. The rough parchment folded aside for him to see light glinting off of the delicate metal chains that made up the tight weave in a nebulous mass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What…?!” He reached in and hooked up one side, lifting it up only for the metal chains to hang loose and reveal the shape of a tunic. Light and protective armor, made of quality material yet again that would protect him if he ever faced an attack towards his upper body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kazemaru gave a low whistle, reaching over and pulling an edge of the chain mail tunic close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dang, this is nice stuff, it’s worth a pretty penny.” He let the metal run over his fingers, then let go to watch the rings sway in the air and reflect various sources of light in the guild. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and last time he gave me a belt, and then a dagger, and this cloak!” Fubuki gestured at himself, showing everything new he’d been gifted in the past month. Everything had been useful and high quality, but it was beginning to worry him that Aphrodi hadn’t clarified his motives for gifting all this. “How is he able to afford all this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely not on guild salary that’s for sure. Oh damn, I wonder if he has a side job.” Kazemaru rubbed his chin, thinking about what he’d seen of messenger recently. Aphrodi had seemed more tired and listless, with some dark circles under his eyes….</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that even allowed?!” Fubuki set the metal tunic back down, then noticed some white fluff caught at the bottom of the wooden counter. He knelt down to pick it up, knowing Kazemaru would probably have to clean off the dust sooner or later, only to find that it was the tufted end of a long white feather.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not prohibited, but I’d rather he finish his work here before going out for whatever night or day job he has on the side.” Kazemaru sighed and crossed his arms, figuring he’d have to have a stern talk with Aphrodi sometime about work responsibilities and benefits. If that man continued slacking off he’d have to talk to the guild supervisor and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was never fun. He looked over at Fubuki, who was now holding a large white feather in his hand and staring at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you found another one of those? Pesky things have been floating around and are hard to sweep up. Sorry about that.” He reached forward to take it, only for the beastman to pull it out of his reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are these from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aphrodi?!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Fubuki could recognize these pearly white feathers anywhere, but had never seen them floating around away from the original owner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> make sense,” Kazemaru admitted as he activated another brain cell and started piecing things together. He tended not to think while on the job as that was above his pay grade, but sometimes...Aphrodi could still be treated as a friend. Mulling over the last few weeks, he thought about how Aphrodi didn’t seem as if he was sleeping well, had let his fashion choices slip a bit, and seemed jumpy at every corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night work…?” He muttered while staring at the expensive items Fubuki was constantly receiving from Aphrodi now. Guild salary couldn’t pay that, hell, normal salary wouldn’t pay for all this in such a short time period, but under the table work….</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Night</span>
  </em>
  <span> work?!” Keen beastman ears didn’t miss too much, and Fubuki flattened them even further against his head as he stared, aghast, at the package in front of him. If Aphrodi was selling his body for all this, he couldn’t bear to take it no matter how useful or expensive the gifts were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait wait, that’s just me speculating, I mean he’s been really tired recently and sort of jumpy. And he wore the same coat two days in a row, that’s gotta say something about his health.” Kazemaru rubbed his chin, then decided it was probably easier to have Fubuki figure it out instead of him playing middleman. “Look, his rounds should finish at around 5 o’clock. If you come back around then, you can probably just talk to him directly. I don’t know much about his personal life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, thank you. I think I’ll do that.” Fubuki glanced at the great wall clock behind the guild clerk, noting that it was still before noon. He had time to spare then, and could probably make a trip around town to pick up some necessities before coming back. Maybe he’d even run into Aphrodi….</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, well, see you then! And don’t forget to take your nice new tunic.” Kazemaru pushed the opened package closer to Fubuki, then sat back down to finish going through the month’s ledgers. There was plenty to do, and he was so engrossed in the work that he didn’t notice the cloudy expression on Fubuki’s face as he picked up the package and went towards the market.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sky was orange, dyeing the interior of the guild wherever it could as the light streamed in through tall glass windows. Fubuki sat at one of the benches, tapping his fingers on his knees, then absentmindedly stroking his tail and picking out random bits of dust and burrs. It was 5 o’clock, and he’d gotten here right on time. He’d wanted to arrive a bit earlier, but haggling with the grocer had taken longer than he’d expected. Kazemaru wasn’t at the guild counter either, so he could only sit and wait in hopes of catching a flighty bird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minutes passed, adding up and tumbling into half an hour, then a quarter to the next hour. Fubuki couldn’t wait much longer without doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but this seemed like a popular guild time as the moment Kazemaru had reappeared he’d been swamped with customers. A lull finally appeared in the never ending stream of adventurers, and Fubuki quickly got up and went to ask about Aphrodi’s whereabouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Kazemaru’s tired expression lit up when he saw Fubuki, then instantly fell again. “Oh I hope you weren’t here too long, I’ve been too busy to check if you were here, but Aphrodi actually came back early and left already.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What!” Fubuki’s hair stood on end, tips of his silver ears pointed straight up into the air. He forced himself to calm down, then suppressed a slight growl as he spoke again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know where he might have gone?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, and I don’t know where he lives either so don’t ask me that. If I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> know, I can’t tell you either,” Kazemaru defensively answered, trying to convince himself that Fubuki was a nice adventurer and would not indiscriminately attack him over letting his coworker go home after work. “You can try coming again tomorrow, he’s supposed to start in the morning at 7 o’clock.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My quest is for tomorrow! Agh….” Fubuki had wanted this resolved before he left, but was now subjected to worry and stress during his entire quest. It wasn’t a short one either, and he couldn’t push it back without penalty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Fubuki, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him and to talk to you.” He gave the despondent beastman a hopefully encouraging smile, but it didn’t seem to work as the bushy tail only drooped further towards the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Kazemaru. I’ll see you after my quest.” Fubuki sighed, then reached up and rubbed his forehead as he walked away, hoping to rub away some of the clinging worries. It only worked to mess up his bangs, and he pulled back some stray silver strands while thinking over the situation he was in. He was worried over Aphrodi, the messenger’s health, and his still unclear reasons for showering Fubuki with all these expensive gifts. Even Fubuki’s adventuring wouldn’t be able to easily afford these items that all probably cost a gold piece each. Fine items they were, but hearing Kazemaru’s description of Aphrodi’s recent behavior and seeing white fluff and feathers floating around the guild had him feeling sick to his stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have to stop this,” Fubuki whispered to himself while walking through the darkening streets, every little glint of gold and flash of white once again reminding him of the bright-eyed messenger. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But why do I care so much, why am I worrying so much over him? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Night work</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Kazemaru had said, and suddenly the image of Aphrodi being a companion to anyone but himself reared in his mind and he absolutely hated it. Fubuki stopped in the street, looking up and staring at his own reflection in a nearby shop window. A slightly warped Fubuki stared back at him from the glass, and he thought about what it would look like if Aphrodi was next to him instead, healthy and whole with those twinkling red eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The messenger that he’d seen at times, here and there. Maybe paid a little more attention to than the other guild folks, enough for him to learn his name and notice how he dressed a little differently and cared about his overall looks. Fubuki had seen him quietly preening at times, checking that each feather was in the right place before flying off to do deliveries. He’d never thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> much about Aphrodi, but now his thoughts were suddenly only full of Aphrodi. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I care about him, I think I like him,” Fubuki whispered to himself, as the only thing he still felt in this sea of worry and confusion being the slightly faster thumping of his heart.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. red salvia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The morning air was cool and stung at Aphrodi’s cheeks as he headed to work for the day. Fog blanketed the mountain town, which meant that flying would be a little more dangerous than usual today. He’d stick to his usual paths though, which would be sparse of other travelers until noon, when the sun would chase the rest of the fog away.  </p><p>Wind tickled at his neck but he simply ignored it, only reaching up to brush away some strands of hair that had gotten caught in the longer middle bang that always hung between his eyes. His health had been better recently, in fact his wings were beginning to grow full again and no more feathers had been lost since last week. The persistent cough and ache in his chest was lessening, and the amount of flowers he coughed up had dwindled to only a few a day. This didn’t bode well for his Fubuki Gift Plan, but he’d just work longer hours at the guild to afford what he wanted. </p><p>“Morning~,” he ducked in through the back door of the guild and saw Kazemaru already putting on the guild apron. One brown eye glanced over at him, then gave him a quick vertical sweep.</p><p>“You’re looking better,” the sudden inspector commented.</p><p>“Um, thanks?” Aphrodi couldn’t remember the last time Kazemaru had directly commented about his looks. He went over to his drawer to get ready as well, pulling off his lighter shawl and donning his work capelet. Made of heavier duty material with two long slits that fell around his wings, they were good for any weather flying. He was working on buckling the slits under his wing when he realized Kazemaru was still standing there. </p><p>“Something up?” </p><p>“Fubuki’s coming back from his quest today, and he wants to talk to you directly.” Kazemaru had been keeping track of the days that the beastman’s quest was supposed to take, and today was the fateful day. </p><p>“Oh.” Aphrodi tried to act casual as he finished buckling the capelet. “What time do you think he might be back?”</p><p>Kazemaru narrowed his eyes, sensing that being truthful right now might not be good for a certain poor adventurer.</p><p>“Probably earlier in the day, around noon,” he lied, knowing that where Fubuki was coming back from would probably take him until nighttime. The same time as when Aphrodi would finish his rounds, especially if the wingfolk played hooky in the middle of the day to avoid being at the guild around noon.</p><p>“Oh great, I’ll see what I can do. If I don’t make it, tell him to just leave a message,” Aphrodi airily replied, finishing with his prep and patting down the front of his tan capelet. He fluffed his wings, then left to go check through the message trays for today’s deliveries, missing the pensive gaze that followed him out.</p><p>---</p><p>Fubuki glanced around as he walked into the guild, trying to spot any mix of white and gold he could see. None to be found, however, and he ended up getting in line for the guild counter. The place was as busy as ever, but he hoped Kazemaru would take some time to tell him about Aphrodi’s recent condition. He’d been so worried the entire time that he’d made several embarrassing mistakes during the quest. It was a good thing he worked solo, otherwise he’d probably be the talk of town right now as the lovestruck fool. He approached the counter after the line slowly moved in front of him, then immediately gave up on any constructive conversation with Kazemaru as the man had a stormy expression on his face. </p><p>“Oh, Fubuki! Hello, right on time as I expected.” To Fubuki’s shock, the annoyance immediately dispersed from Kazemaru’s face upon seeing the awaited adventurer. </p><p>“Um, hi? Was I supposed to be here for something?” His tail swished while Fubuki glanced around again, wondering where Aphrodi was.</p><p>“No, no. It’s just you’re usually extremely punctual about reporting back to the guild, and I estimated the quest would take about a week for you to finish it and get back.” Kazemaru flipped through the ledger, then found the corresponding quest without asking Fubuki for any accompanying information. The beastman suddenly realized that maybe this bored guild clerk was a lot smarter than he let on. </p><p>“Oh...well um, here’s the quest result.” Fubuki passed over a bag and watched as Kazemaru began sifting through the contents and noting them down. “While you’re at it, um, how has Aphrodi been? Like his health?” He tried to make it sound casual, but his flicking tail and ears belied his actual feelings.</p><p>“He’s been looking and doing better, actually. No more lost feathers.” Kazemaru finished checking through the bag and carried it over to the back counter. “Actually if you wait about half an hour, he should be back from his rounds and you can talk to him directly.”</p><p>“Really?!” Fubuki’s ears stood on end as he couldn’t believe his luck. Little did he know that it was manufactured luck from Kazemaru’s end, the very man sick of watching this cat and mouse chase. </p><p>“Yes, really. I suggest you go sit on the second floor. He won’t be able to see you and fly away as easily.” Kazemaru finished working through the accounts, then handed Fubuki a slip of paper. “I’ll go in the back and get your reward money, just wait here.”</p><p>“Ah, thank you, Kazemaru.” He watched the guild clerk disappear in the back, then reappear with a small sachet of coins. </p><p>“No worries, just set that bag of feathers right.” Kazemaru gave him a rare smile, then waved him off to go hide upstairs and ambush a certain winged messenger later.</p><p>---</p><p>Aphrodi wandered into the guild, tired after a day of busy deliveries and having to drag his working hours longer to avoid getting near the guild at noon. Kazemaru was beginning to wrap up his work, going through the end of day ledgers before closing the guild for the day. </p><p>“Oh? Finally done?” The guild clerk watched as Aphrodi dumped the incoming mail into the correct file boxes. The messenger’s back was facing the front counter, where a flash of silver was spiriting down the stairs at a rapid pace. </p><p>“Yep yep,” the messenger replied with a slight yawn. “Time to go home, nothing much happened today during-”</p><p>“Aphrodi.”</p><p>The unexpected target whirled around, able to recognize that voice anywhere. He faced a level pair of teal eyes that seemed to bore right into him, but gave away no hints as to why the owner of them was here.</p><p>“F-Fubuki? W-what are you doing here?!” The squeeze of his chest tightened again, and didn’t let go this time as he was suddenly faced with the object of all his recent material affection.</p><p>“I wanted to have a chat with you,” Fubuki softly replied, trying to force himself to maintain eye contact and not visually check Aphrodi’s physical health all at once. “Once you’re done with that, can you come with me and we can talk upstairs? It’s empty right now.” He would know of course, having sat there until everyone around him had left while waiting for a certain someone. </p><p>“Um, would another time work? I’m a bit tired right now-” The slam of a ledger book nearby made Aphrodi jump and he stared at Kazemaru, who calmly picked the book back up and filed it into the nearby shelf in complete silence.</p><p>“Actually if it’s short, I can chat,” Aphrodi replied with a nervous laugh. He stuck his hands under his capelet, trying to get them out of reach of any more slammed books. </p><p>“That’s great.” Fubuki didn’t move, and Aphrodi realized he was the one that had to come around the counter and go upstairs. He shuffled through, trying not to brush against Kazemaru in the narrow space, then followed Fubuki up the wooden stairs to the upper seating area. Scattered benches and tables were everywhere, but they were empty of other guests. Fubuki sat down on a carefully chosen long bench, tapping the space next to him while looking expectantly at Aphrodi.</p><p>Suppressing a sigh and ignoring the tightness in his chest, Aphrodi sat down on the rough wood and stared into those even teal eyes. Eyes he always wished to look at him, except now they were and he wished they were looking at anything but him. </p><p>“How are you?” Fubuki started with an innocuous question, taking the chance to glance over Aphrodi, noticing how some smaller feathers seemed to be peeking out under the longer white pinions. It seemed like he was recovering, although the man looked quite pale and his breathing had turned shallow. </p><p>“Fine.” Aphrodi lied as his chest tightened again. Now of all times was not when he wanted to hack up some saffron, but he had enough practice by now to hopefully keep it down until the talk was over. “How about you?”</p><p>“Doing well, the quest was straightforward, especially with all the new items you’ve gifted me.” The beastman reached up and ran a hand over his caped shoulder, brushing against the silver clasp that held the cape closed. Aphrodi’s eyes darted down and noted the dagger, belt, and what seemed like the fold of a chain mail tunic beneath simple linen. He heaved a small sigh of relief, glad that these items fit and were being well used.</p><p>“That’s great, I’m glad they’re useful,” he gushed, starting to let down his guard if this was just simply a ‘thank you’ talk. Aphrodi folded his wings while reaching up to brush away a strand of hair, but the sudden relaxation caused his chest to spasm and he coughed in surprise. Slamming a hand over his mouth, he managed to force down the feeling of nausea before looking up to see Fubuki’s ears standing on end. </p><p>“Aphrodi, are you not feeling well?” Fubuki reached forward, brows furrowed and wishing he could wrangle out the cause of all this with a simple but firm shake. Aphrodi drew away, waving him off and giving off some weak huffs before uncovering his mouth. </p><p>“I’m OK, totally OK.” Aphrodi lied again, feeling like he was lying a lot lately, but only to one beloved beastman. “Anyways if that’s it, I’m glad you like the items.” He smiled, hoping this was the end of the conversation.</p><p>“I do, but I can’t accept them for no reason.” He scooted closer to Aphrodi again, unwilling to let the space grow between them. “Aphrodi, please, why did you give these to me? These items aren’t cheap, and no regular...day job salary would be able to afford these. Even I can’t easily afford them unless I take on the more dangerous quests.” </p><p>“I...simply felt like it,” Aphrodi continued spinning his web of frivolous reasons, purposely ignoring his true feelings. “Don’t worry about the money, I just wanted you to have nicer quality things.”</p><p>“But I <em> am </em> worried, Aphrodi, if this is at the cost of your health—” Fubuki reached out mid sentence and grasped one of Aphrodi’s wrists. “I don’t want to accept any of these. I’ll sell all of these back, then we can go to the doctor-”</p><p>“Really there’s no need!” Aphrodi could feel his chest beginning to heave and his wings splayed outwards, trying to suppress anything, everything. Fubuki was gripping his wrist so tightly, but he needed to fly away now, hack up the flowers in some unsuspecting corner and carry on as if nothing happened. Helplessly twisting his caught wrist, he glanced up to see that the color teal had turned into steely grey in the wolf’s eyes. </p><p>“Please Fubuki, let go of me, you don’t need to care that much about me-!” his voice rose in pitch while trying to suppress the cough that threatened to burst out at any moment. </p><p>“Why can’t I care?!” Fubuki felt heat sear across his nape, tail lashing against the edges of the wooden bench. “You shower me with expensive gifts, then avoid me at every corner and wear yourself down to the bone! Do you think I want all these items at the expense of yourself?! What type of work are you doing, Aphrodi! Night work? With who?!” He spat out the last few words, snarling slightly and letting too much of his beastman blood seep into his rioting emotions. </p><p>“It’s not night work!” Aphrodi yelped, shocked at this accusation but too clouded with panic from trying to hide the symptoms that were about to rear their ugly petals very soon. “And why would you even <em> care </em> if it was?! Fubuki Shirou, let me go!!”</p><p>“I care because-!” Feeling that spoken words weren’t getting anything across anymore, Fubuki pulled his arm forward, the momentum carrying Aphrodi straight towards him and closing the short distance in between them. Before the flighty bird could even react, Fubuki kissed him, slightly chapped lips grazing against softer ones. Aphrodi froze in Fubuki’s grip, mind going blank as his wildest dreams became reality in that very moment. </p><p><em> He kiss—Fubuki’s kissing me?! </em>His senses were overwhelmed a split second later, as rough lips didn’t leave his own. The squeeze of his ribcage became worse than he’d ever felt and he slammed his palm against Fubuki’s chest. Small metal rings dug into his hand through the thin cover of linen on the beastman’s chest, but the shock was enough to break Fubuki away from him. The hand around his wrist only tightened in response, and Aphrodi gave up on getting away in time as his chest heaved and a series of heavy coughs dislodged what felt like all his insides. </p><p>Fubuki watched, frozen, as Aphrodi coughed and coughed out what seemed to be an abundance of purple flowers into a half cupped hand. The excess that couldn’t be caught in the creased palm simply scattered to the floor, stark against the dark wooden planks. A visual that reminded Fubuki of a similar petal he’d picked up from the ground weeks ago after bumping into Aphrodi in the market. To think they’d come directly...<em> out </em> of Aphrodi was something absolutely unexpected. The retching seemed to have stopped, and the flow of florals ended with a petal and some red strands stuck onto Aphrodi’s lower lip. The poor messenger’s chest heaved up and down, but breathing was easier than it had been in months, and he couldn’t feel any heaviness anymore. If Kidou took a look at him right now, he’d probably be pronounced as cured without even having to confess. </p><p>Feeling the lowest he’d ever been after throwing up flowers in front of his crush, Aphrodi hoped he could instead just die now through other natural means. </p><p>“Aphrodi, I—are, um, are you OK? Do you need me to take you to the doctor?” Fubuki knelt down onto the ground next to the wilting wingfolk, reaching over with his cape and trying to wipe off the excess spittle around Aphrodi’s mouth. It said volumes about Aphrodi’s condition when he was met with no resistance, verbal nor physical. Brushing off the flower parts scattered all over the messenger’s capelet, Fubuki wondered what type of flowers these were. He glanced over at Aphrodi’s defeated face, then leaned over and tried a kiss on the forehead in hopes of reviving the man. </p><p>“Wh-what was that for?!” Aphrodi’s wings flapped wildly, stirring up the nearby petals as he tried to process what had happened <em> again </em>. “Why did you kiss me?!”</p><p>“Is your head also full of flower petals?” Fubuki asked, genuinely concerned at this point. He pulled Aphrodi close, wrapping the cape over trembling wings and letting his fingertips brush over the soft feathers. They seemed even softer than the one he’d picked up from the guild floor, but maybe it was just his wishful thinking.</p><p>“No?! I’m fine now, seriously,” Aphrodi complained while rubbing his chest. He took a deep breath, relishing slightly in filling his lungs to the brim, then slowly exhaled it. His wings stopped trembling, but then squished up against his back as he realized Fubuki was now gently hugging him from around the shoulders. </p><p>“Um, Fubuki? I’m OK now, you can let me go.” He gave off a nervous laugh, trying to push off the cape wrapped over his wings. Damn himself for getting such a nice cape, it was heavy and only served to hold him down in place. Fubuki didn’t reply, only staring at him in such a way that it made him feel incredibly self conscious. </p><p>
  <em> I must look horrible right now, I just threw up these stupid unexplained crush-induced flower petals, in front of Fubuki, my crush, after he kissed me- </em>
</p><p><em> Oh, he kissed me. </em> Aphrodi glanced back up and met the eyes that had reverted back to teal and then suddenly felt a creeping heat blossom from his ears. </p><p>“Kiss...” He began to try and clarify things, when Fubuki seemed to take that as an invitation and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips once more. </p><p>“S-stop it!” Aphrodi tried to push him off, only to find that an adventurer was much more solidly built than a simple guild messenger. “Don’t just randomly kiss me, it’ll confuse me!”</p><p>“Confuse you over what?” Fubuki refused to openly say it, he wanted the tumbling little bird to find his way there himself. He snuck in a few more strokes on the tightly folded white wings, wanting to coax them open again just to see their silhouette.</p><p>Aphrodi held his breath for a moment, mind racing to put together recent facts. How he wasn’t feeling any tightness or pain in his chest now, and what Kidou had said about the curse ending when it wasn’t one-sided anymore. Fubuki watched as red eyes stared up at him once more, but this time filled with a hint of wonder.</p><p>“Do you like me?” Aphrodi whispered his question, scared to hear the answer despite feeling it through his shallow but even breaths. </p><p>“I suppose so, yes,” Fubuki replied with a smile, before leaning in and peppering the chosen wingfolk with plenty of kisses. His tail involuntarily wagged slightly, and he was glad the cape was large enough to block that from Aphrodi’s view. The movement stirred up some flower petals, however, and he pulled back while narrowing his eyes at the floating purple petals. </p><p>“Are you sure you’re alright?” He reached forward and gently placed a hand on Aphrodi’s chest. “You coughed out so many flowers, what was that about? A curse?” </p><p>“I-well-yeah.” Aphrodi gave up on trying to play it cool now that his crush liked him back. “It’s complicated, but it was um, sort of linked to how I uh...like you.” He whispered the last part, hoping Fubuki wouldn’t catch it, but wolf ears were too powerful for that. </p><p>“I’m glad it’s mutual,” Fubuki hugged him tighter, then batted away the excess flower petals. “But now that it’s mutual, I want to know where this money came from. And if it’s anything unsavory I want to pay it all back.” </p><p>“It’s not, it was just convenient.” The tired ex-saffron producer stared at the crushed and scattered saffron bits all around him, then reached up and rubbed at his eyes. “I was coughing up these flowers and it turns out they’re saffron flowers, and the little red strands in them sell for an exorbitant amount of gold. Every time I coughed them up I’d just give them a little wash, then sell them at the spice shop. I made enough to buy you something nice nearly every time, since I guess...the income indirectly came from you and I also wanted to get you better items.”</p><p>“You <em> used </em>me like that and didn’t even get it cured?!” Fubuki replied, tail puffing out as he processed all of this. “Why-”</p><p>“It couldn’t be cured unless I confessed to you and received a good reply, or you fell in love with me!” Aphrodi protested, sensing the first couple’s argument coming up already. If they were even officially dating yet. “And I just...didn’t want to chance it...I don’t know…..I didn’t want you to hate me. If you had said you didn’t like me back, I would’ve still died by getting choked out by flowers but also be extra depressed.” He stared at the floorboards, not wanting to see the probably disappointed look on Fubuki’s face.</p><p>“I should be the one to say I’m surprised you like me,” Fubuki murmured, angling himself closer so he could better hold Aphrodi tight. The tired bird wasn’t about to fly away anytime now, but he still wanted to make sure.</p><p>“But I’m glad this curse could be solved so easily, and I’ll make sure it won’t come back for the rest of your life.” </p><p>Aphrodi felt his cheeks burn as he realized the implications of that last phrase. He’d thought Fubuki was quiet and soft-spoken, but as the beastman nuzzled the crown of his hair, he felt that there was plenty of wolf blood in the man after all. </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. saffron</h2></a>
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    <p>The days always felt long when there weren’t any requests to deal with, so Kazemaru absentmindedly tidied up the inkwells next to him while watching the guild common room going-ons. Adventurers lounged in different corners, some sitting on benches and others standing as new trade routes and monster sightings were discussed. A couple of them were clustered around the sparse notice board, and some stragglers were at the more specialized counters asking about this or that. Things were completely normal, even more so as a white-feathered wingfolk breezed in from an open upper window. Aphrodi’s even wings caught an upwards gust and rode it until he landed neatly behind the counter. </p><p>“Whoop! Here, some inbound mail from today.” He dug into the capelet and pulled out an assortment of flat letters and some extra scrolls, handing them all to Kazemaru.</p><p>“You can file what you already know,” the guild clerk replied while selectively picking out some scrolls. These had to be read before they got filed, but he’d have to check over the rest later just in case.</p><p>“Meanie.” Aphrodi eagerly shoved them into the separate file boxes, then began to unbutton his work cape. “Has Fubuki come by yet?”</p><p>“No, and there’s still work to do before he comes-”</p><p>“Oh! I think I see him!” The shirking messenger threw a random glance backwards before hurrying into the backroom to change out of his work clothes. Kazemaru sighed as he finished breaking the wax seal on the first scroll. He didn’t know what had happened after Fubuki and Aphrodi had a “talk” that one night, but he’d come back to weird flowers in the wastebin and a suspiciously clean second floor the next day. Thinking too hard about it would hurt his head, so he’d decided to just ignore it all as long as Aphrodi kept up his work. </p><p>“Mmmm what’s this one about…,” Kazemaru muttered to himself as he unrolled the scroll. He was halfway through reading the second convoluted request paragraph when a slight knock on his desk startled him out of it. </p><p>“How may I help you—oh, Kidou.” He snapped out of the automatic greeting upon seeing the spectacles-clad doctor that came by every once in a while to pick up some medicinal materials from the guild. The man was wearing a long red cloak and a knit hat today. Always something out of season, and typically far too warm.</p><p>“You’ll be sweating by the time you’re hauling all the materials back up to your place,” Kazemaru laughed at how overdressed the doctor was. </p><p>“Haruna gets worried if I come out dressed too lightly,” Kidou stiffly replied as he brushed off some stray brown fur from his coat front. He looked around only to see one of his patients stroll right out of the back room. </p><p>“Aphrodi! Hey-!” He reached out a hand and waved it, hoping to catch the flighty bird’s attention, but something else caught Aphrodi’s eye and the messenger flitted off in that direction. Kidou watched as Aphrodi seemed to stick directly to some beastman that had just arrived in the guild common room. They had a quick exchange of words, then left the guild to head off into the streets.</p><p>“Don’t bother, he barely hears anything other than what Fubuki says to him nowadays,” Kazemaru commented as he started pulling out the different ledger books for the doctor’s materials. </p><p>“Fubuki? Was that the beastman he was with?” </p><p>“Yeah, they’re an item now. Don’t ask Aphrodi about it. He won’t shut up.” Kazemaru had to put a hard stop on love talk as his single ass was not feeling great each time Aphrodi gushed about how wonderful Fubuki was to him. Something about saving his life with love, which was probably an exaggeration. </p><p>“That’s good to hear, I was getting worried about him. He looks decently healthy now, probably better than I’ve seen him in a while,” Kidou commented.</p><p>“Hm? Was there actually something wrong with him?” Kazemaru glanced up, knowing that Aphrodi wasn’t really one to go see the doctor unless there was something life-threatening.</p><p>“Let’s just say the price of saffron has gone up again,” Kidou remarked with a slight smile as he thought about the clasped hands he’d noticed between the bouncing wingfolk and quiet beastman as they’d walked out the guild doors. “Now about the materials I ordered….”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Congrats on finishing reading this fic!!! It was exceedingly fun to write this trope into a way that appealed to myself and probably only myself but I had a great time. Not much to say this time other than seeds don't grow in your stomach!<br/>---<br/>You can find me on my <a href="https://twitter.com/kuroekoo">Twitter</a> or my <a href="https://kuroeko.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> ! Otherwise, see you in my next fic! (What do you mean it's more afufubu? MORE?!)</p><p> </p><p>  </p>
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